In Ireland's Interests - Labour's Proposals for Budget 2011
Jobs, Reform, Fairness
Issued : Friday 3 December, 2010
Labour's proposals for Budget 2011 demonstrate how Ireland can begin to close its budget deficit, while still delivering a strategy for growth and job creation.
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Summary
Labour does not share the conservative consensus in Ireland, and in the European Commission, that a €6 billion adjustment is the right course of action. Ireland does have an unsustainable budget deficit, and tackling it will require hard decisions, but we have to make the right hard decisions.
Labour's strategy for 2011 detailed €5.0 billion in adjustments, with €500m recycled back into the economy for job creation. This amounts to a net adjustment of €4.5 billion. Our specific proposals include:
- A €500 million Jobs Fund for initiatives to grow jobs in sectors where Ireland already has a competitive advantage, such as clean technology, food, and tourism, and to develop our export relationships with emerging economies in Asia and South America.
- Expanding options for unemployed people to re-train, start their own business, or get valuable work experience, such as 30,000 places in Labour's 'Bridge the GAP' Graduate and Apprentice Work Placement Scheme; a tax-back scheme for full-time study; an 'Earn and Learn' scheme for people on reduced hours; and making it easier to access the Back to Education or Back to Work Enterprise Allowances.
- A Comprehensive Spending Review to examine value for money and effectiveness of all government spending. No area of government spending will be off limits.
- A negotiated three-year wage freeze to contain costs in the economy, together with a temporary Fees Commission to examine the cost of professional fees.
- A 50:50 approach to spending cuts and revenue raising, including:
- Spending cuts of €1.2 billion from the capital budget, to be offset by new investment in infrastructure by Labour's Strategic Investment Bank.
- Current spending cuts of just under €1 billion.
- Payroll savings of €400 million.
- The balance to come from taxation measures, including €510 million from abolishing or reducing property-related tax reliefs and loopholes; €400 million from reducing tax relief on pensions for the very wealthy; €100 million from tackling tax exiles; and €219 million from abolishing minor reliefs.
